New Beginnings
by In The Beginning
Summary: One brother grows up to be a coolheaded, respectable surgeon. The other, the head of Caduceus USA. No one has ever known, however, the past of the Kasal brothers... and  why they are the way they are. [Complete]
1. Out of Town Be Back Later

(This is probably the second Kasal-centered fanfiction on the first being TCGeek's "Infidelity."

Note to everyone: Go read it! Like, stop reading this and go read that! It's amazing!

Anyways... I hope you enjoy this odd bit of surprisingly normal fanfiction!

Characters © Nintendo

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New Beginnings

Chapter One- Out of Town; Be Back Later

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"Greg, go and tell your brother to get down here, please..."

"Mom, you know he won't change his mind about whatever you were arguing about--"

"Yes he will! I know he will!"

Sixteen-year-old Greg Kasal sighed, refusing to argue with his stubborn mother.

_What makes her think this time will be any different?_

"Fine, I'll go get him..."

Traipsing up the stairs to the second floor, Greg stopped in front of the door to the bedroom that he shared with his younger twin, Sidney.

The door was closed, and Greg could tell that his stubborn brother was sitting against the door.

"Sidney, if you don't move, I'm going to kick the door," Greg announced clearly.

After five seconds of silence, Greg promptly kicked the door, about two feet up from the floor.

"Ow..."

The door opened, and Greg was greeted by the sight of his brother, who was rubbing the back of his head and looking rather bitter.

"That hurt, Greg," Sidney muttered as he fixed his glasses.

"Well, you were asking for it by just sitting there," Greg retorted. "Let me in."

Sidney muttered, slowly moving out of the doorway. Greg walked in, shutting the door behind him.

"Alright, what did you and Mom argue about this time?"

Sidney hesitated. "...Mom doesn't want me going out of state for college."

"...how did THAT come up, Sid?"

Sidney pulled a crumpled piece of paper out of his back pocket, handing it to his brother. Greg unfolded it and quickly glanced at it.

"Ohh..."

"Mom found that list of college choices on my computer desk while we were at school," Sidney explained. "I guess she got ticked off because there weren't any in-state colleges on the list."

"...why do you want to go out of state so bad that you're picking colleges as a sophomore?" Greg asked, checking over the list once again.

"I want to prepare myself for the future," Sidney replied, staring out the window. "But if I do that with Mom close by, we're just going to fight. Everything she tells me to do is pointless; that's why I don't do it. But of course, she just thinks I'm being stubborn."

"You've got a point about Mom, but you are kind of stubborn, Sidney," Greg grinned, handing the list back to his twin. "...but maybe out of state isn't a good choice."

"You're not changing my mind, Greg; you of all people should know that."

"Just hear me out, alright?"

Sidney listened to Greg's advice...

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Thirty minutes later, Greg and Sidney came down downstairs. Their mother was waiting, looking expectantly at Sidney. Sidney fixed his glasses and took a deep breath.

"Mom... I... I won't go out of state for college," Sidney announced to his mother. "...Greg offered some compelling evidence to not do that."

Needless to say, their mother's expression was nothing less than one of shock. But it quickly changed to one of joy as she hurried over to Sidney, wrapping him in a tight hug.

"Thank you, Sidney..." she breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

The Kasal twins glanced at each other, then rolled their eyes, fighting back grins...

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"Hey, Greg..."

"Yeah?"

It was a late-night tradition for Greg and Sidney; when they couldn't fall asleep, they would stay up late, talking to pass the time.

"What do you want to do for a living?"

Greg frowned, deep in thought.

"I think... I think I want to go into medicine. I want to be able to save people's lives"

"...yeah, I could see you doing that," Sidney commented, rubbing his eyes. "But there's other ways to save lives. Why not a police officer or a fireman?"

"Because you have to be strong to be those things... and look at me. Heck, look at us; we're not exactly on the varsity football team, are we?" Greg chuckled. "...what about you, Sid? What do you want to do?"

"Business."

Greg laughed.

"Hey, I didn't laugh when you said medicine!"

"S-sorry... but, what made you decide business?"

"You get job security in business."

"Ha! You sound like Dad did."

"Mm..."

There was silence.

"...hey, Greg?"

"Yeah, Sidney?"

"Thanks for your help earlier. About the whole college thing."

Greg smiled.

"Of course, Sidney."

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The first row stood up. Then moved towards the front of the auditorium.

"Please hold all applause until everybody's name has been called.

"Abigail Abbasi."

Graduation day for the class of 2001. All the students, dressed up in their graduation gowns, sat in chairs in the school auditorium, waiting for their names to be called so they could receive their diplomas.

Among that group of students were Greg and Sidney Kasal.

"Nervous, Sidney?" Greg whispered, as smile playing at his lips. He was too excited to be nervous.

Sidney fixed his glasses.

"Of course not."

"Jessica Bethard."

"Can't wait till we get out of here," Greg muttered, fingering his collar.

"I know," Sidney agreed. "Can't believe Mom made us wear shirts and ties... it's not like you can even tell."

"Sometimes it's best not to argue with her..."

A supervising teacher threw a pen cap at Greg. It hit him in the side of the head, effectively silencing the elder twin. Sidney fought back a snicker.

"Nerissa DeSoma."

"...have you decided where you're going?" Greg's voice was much quieter this time.

"...I'm thinking of Asia," Sidney responded.

"Meaning.. you've already been invited, and you accepted."

Sidney smiled.

"Jacob Frailey."

Greg and Sidney's row stood up, approaching the front of the auditorium.

"I need to talk to you about that after we get out of here," Sidney hissed, trying not to be noticed by one of the teachers.

"Alright."

"Erick Johnson.

"Greg Kasal."

In the audience, Greg and Sidney's mother felt tears of joy come to her eyes. She tried to fight them back...

"Sidney Kasal."

Her face was soon damp as she felt pride in her sons rising up from within.

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"Greg, you have to help me..."

"What, Mom?"

Greg had changed into something far more comfortable- a t-shirt and jeans were much less constraining than a shirt, a tie and slacks.

"Sidney's got this crazy idea in his head that he's leaving for Japan tonight... for school! Can you believe that?"

"...no, I can't."

"Well, could you please go and talk some sense into him?"

"Fine..."

Greg went up to the room he shared with his brother. The door was closed.

"Sidney, if you--"

"It's open, Greg."

He walked in.

Sidney was busy packing clothes into a very large suitcase, along with his books, beddings, and laptop. He still wore the clothes that his mother had forced him to wear that morning.

"Mom told you to come and talk sense into me. To not go to Japan."

"Yeah," Greg nodded.

"You're not going to," Sidney smiled as he closed his suitcase.

"What do you mean I'm not going to? Of course I am."

Sidney's smile vanished...

"You think Mom's going to let you go if you drag your suitcase out the front door? She'll lock you in the house."

Greg couldn't help but grin as a look of realization hit Sidney. Greg was right; their mom wasn't going to give in without a fight.

"I'm not a hypocrite, Sidney. If I told you to go and study abroad, it's because I think it would help you, so why would I try to stop you from doing that?"

"...thanks, Greg," Sidney nodded, standing his suitcase upright. "Now... what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Yeah?"

"...I need you to drive me to the airport. Mom took preemptive measures and took away my license."

"Alright... but we obviously can't go through the front door with your suitcase. ...here, I have an idea. Open the window."

As Sidney forced the window all the way open, Greg took the laptop out of the suitcase, re-closed it, then dragged the heavy bag of luggage over to the open window.

"Help me pick this up... jeez. Did you pack an elephant in here?"

"Mom's going to hear it when it hits the ground...!"

"Not if we throw it out far enough. C'mon, give me a hand here."

Through their combined efforts, they managed to throw the suitcase into the middle of the front yard.

"Alright," Greg dusted off his hands, then went and picked up Sidney's laptop. "Close the window, Sidney."

After the window was closed, they went downstairs, Greg still holding onto the laptop.

"Oh, hello, boys..."

Greg and Sidney froze at the bottom of the stairs... Sidney was the first to recover.

"Mom..." he began, fixing his glasses. "...I'm staying."

"Oh, are you now?" their mother's voice expressed doubt. "You were packing like a maniac just ten minutes ago."

"You can go upstairs and look," Greg nodded in agreement with Sidney. "His suitcase is gone."

She glanced at Greg doubtfully, noticing the laptop in is hands, before heading upstairs to see for herself if they spoke the truth.

"...c'mon, Sidney!" Greg grabbed the car keys as he and his twin ran for the front door.

Their mother was frozen to the floor, standing in their room. Sidney's drawers were empty... and Greg wasn't lying. Sidney's suitcase was gone...

She ran to the window.

Greg and Sidney had just thrown the suitcase into the trunk of the family car. Sidney was climbing into the shotgun seat as Greg closed the trunk.

She threw the window open.

"GREG!"

Greg forced himself not to look up as he got in the driver's seat. Their mother heard the engine start, then watched in disbelief as the car rolled out of the driveway and drove out of sight.

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"She's going to kill you when you get back home..."

"Whatever."

Sidney's flight was boarding.

"Are you sure you have your ticket?"

Sidney sighed, showing his plane ticket to Greg once again. "I swear, if she were more normal, you'd sound just like Mom."

Greg laughed.

"...I'll email you once I get set up over there," Sidney informed, fixing his glasses.

"I'll be waiting... assuming I'm still alive, that is," Greg replied.

Sidney cracked a small smile, then turned towards the boarding gate.

"See you later, Greg."

"Yeah..."

As Sidney got his ticket verified, Greg couldn't help himself.

"Have a safe flight!"

"Yes, Mother!"

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Greg laughed as Sidney boarded the plane, then stuck around long enough to watch his brother's plane take off.

(End chapter one!

These chapters are going to be a lot longer, most likely, than the chapters I wrote for Perfect Death. I mean, damn, this one's eight pages in Word!

And yes, I say that they're twins... how else do you explain that they're brothers, they look so much alike AND they're the same age? Not to mention that they think a lot alike...

Let me know what you think so far!)


	2. Help

(Woooo! Chapter two is extremely dysfunctional!

It was originally going to be like, two times longer, but then I was like, "...no. I'll just make it five chapters instead." Lucky you! And you also get to see my horrible chapter titling! You lucky lucky people!

In other news, the reason I made Sidney go to Asia and not Europe is because a) everyone goes to Europe and b) in my other fic, Perfect Death, I said he went to Japan. I have to maintain consistency.

Also, I have to put (a) instead of the at symbol, because otherwise, Sidney's email becomes a jumble of letters, and Greg's disappears completely! Wow!

Edit: JESUS CHRIST FINALLY. Greg's email likes to go NINJA, so I made a relatively fake one. NOW it should stay.

And so, without further ado, the next chapter!

Characters (except Kichijiro) © Nintendo)

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New Beginnings

Chapter Two- Help

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_**Gkasal has logged in.**_

_**Skasal has logged in.**_

_Gkasal: Hey Sidney_

_Skasal: Hello_

_Skasal: Still alive, I see._

_Gkasal: Yeah._

_Gkasal: I think Mom's in shock that you actually left. -laugh-_

_Skasal: ..._

_Gkasal: Don't worry about it. She's fine_

Sidney sighed.

_Skasal: Alright._

_Skasal: You still going to U of C?_

_Gkasal: I leave in a month_

_Skasal: ...o rly._

Greg shuddered.

_Gkasal: Stop that. It's not like you._

_Skasal: Fine, go and ruin all my fun._

_Skasal: I'm going to get some food. Talk to you later, Greg._

_Gkasal: Alright._

_**Skasal has logged out.**_

_**Gkasal has become idle.**_

...now that he thought about it, dinner sounded really good to Greg right about then. Leaving his computer, he went downstairs to grab some food...

"Oh, hello, Greg..."

His mother was sitting at the dinner table, looking almost forlorn.

"Would you join me for dinner?"

"...yeah, Mom."

Greg sat down as his mother went to the fridge and took out leftover pizza from the night before. She grabbed two plates, then put one in front of Greg as she sat down, placing the pizza box in the middle of the table. Greg took a piece and began eating, trying to avoid his mother's guilt-inducing look of sadness.

_Wait for it..._ he thought.

"...so how long do you think it will be until Sidney comes to his senses and comes back?"

_That didn't take long._

Greg slowly chewed on his pizza, mulling the question over in his mind.

"...Sidney's not coming back for good. Not until he graduates, anyways."

"...but... why..." his mother's voice quaked slightly. "He... he said he wasn't going to go out of the state... he said he was staying here..."

"No he didn't," Greg shook his head. "He just said he wasn't going out of state... he said nothing about staying in the country, though."

"But that's--"

"Yes, I know that's leaving the state. But that wasn't going to deter him, Mom."

His mother looked at him, her hazel eyes reflecting sadness.

"...you gave him the idea to go."

"...yeah. I did."

"...why?" was all she asked.

"...Mom, you're always telling us to set our own paths," Greg explained. "But if we always stay close to you, we're never really on our own- you're stubborn, Mom. You force your influence on us. Sidney... Sidney didn't leave to abandon; he did it because he wanted to make himself... without you telling him how to do it."

"...and soon... you'll be doing the same thing," his mother added, tears starting to fall from her eyes.

"Yes."

"...I didn't want to believe it... I guess you really are grown up, aren't you two? ...but I understand. I have to let you go... just promise me one thing, Greg. Promise... that you won't forget me."

"Of course, Mom."

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Sidney had only seen snow once before, and that was on TV.

Now that he had seen how much snow there could be at one time, he was extremely thankful that the dorm building was on the main campus.

Sidney stuck to the sides of the building that cold January morning, where there was the least amount of snow- relatively speaking, of course. Two feet of snow was still a lot of snow.

"Aieee!"

Sidney looked back to see a woman topple over sideways into the tall snowdrifts.

"Ugh..."

Sidney walked back to her, slightly concerned.

"Are you okay, ma'am?"

One look at her, and Sidney could tell that she was not Japanese; her long hair was light brown, and her skin was very tanned. Her bright green eyes looked up and noticed Sidney standing over her, holding out a hand.

"Oh... I'd be better if it weren't for all this snow," the woman sighed, taking Sidney's hand as she stood up. "I really should be used to this, I live in New York..."

"...you weren't born there, were you?" Sidney asked. "Here, let me walk you to your class... you don't really have the New Yorker accent."

"Oh, thank you," the woman smiled, taking Sidney's arm as they walked to the main building. "Yes, you're right, I'm not New Yorker by birth... I was actually born in Italy."

"Really?" Sidney seemed slightly awed by that fact. "And when did you move to America?"

"Uhm... just before I turned seven, I think..."

As they walked indoors, they continued discussing about their pasts, until the woman promptly stopped in front of a door.

"This is my class," she stated, smiling softly. "Thank you, Mr..."

"Kasal," Sidney replied. "Sidney Kasal."

"Sidney... I'm Victoria. Victoria DelGiudice," the woman introduced herself. "...I hope we see each other again soon..."

And with that, she smiled briefly, then entered her classroom.

Sidney couldn't pull himself away.

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_On 1/17/2002 at 7:04 pm skasal(a)siu.jp wrote:_

_Greg, you have to help me._

Greg reread the email again just to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. Sidney was... _asking_ for help? Normally it had to be force-fed to him.

_On 1/17/2002 at 7:09 pm gkasal(a)uofc.il wrote:_

_Sure, once you tell me what you've done with Sidney Kasal._

Sidney frowned.

_On 1/7/2002 at 7:15 pm skasal(a)siu.jp wrote:_

_Ha ha. Very funny, Greg._

_I just met this really great girl the other day. She's kind, she's smart, she's not superficial- and she's in one of my business classes. How do I impress her?_

Greg fell out of his chair, he was in so much shock.

_On 1/17/2002 at 7:21 pm gkasal(a)uofc.il wrote:_

_Don't tell me you have a CRUSH, Sidney..._

_On 1/17/2002 at 7:30 pm skasal(a)siu.jp wrote:_

_Shut up, Greg._

_On 1/17/2002 at 7:40 pm gkasal(a)uofc.il wrote:_

_Right, sorry._

_Well, I don't know what they have over in Japan, but if you're going to take her out, do something interesting... and be yourself, because nobody likes a faker._

_On 1/17/2002 at 7:47 pm skasal(a)siu.jp wrote:_

_Alright... thanks, Greg._

_On 1/17/2002 at 7:50 gkasal(a)uofc.il wrote:_

_Yeah, you're welcome._

Sidney turned off his laptop just as his stomach started growling loudly. He was hungry...

Fixing his glasses, Sidney left for the cafeteria.

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"...Sidney?"

Sidney looked up from his meal to see...

"Oh, Victoria..."

"Is it okay if I sit here...?" Victoria hesitantly placed her food tray on the table, watching Sidney, waiting for a response.

"Yeah, go ahead," Sidney nodded, moving his stuff to make room for Victoria. She sat down across from Sidney, smiling nervously.

"So... how are you?" Sidney asked, hiding his nervousness behind a pleasant tone of voice.

"I'm well," Victoria replied, "but I'm also a little sad... there's no good clubs to join here."

"There's lots of good clubs," Sidney replied, frowning slightly.

"Well, yes, there's many science clubs and sports teams, but nothing really... how to put it... artistic," Victoria sighed. "I like science and math, really, and I'm fairly good at sports. But... I really like art and theater. I just wish that they had something along those lines..."

As Victoria ate her sandwich, Sidney suddenly remembered a conversation he had had with his dorm mate earlier...

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_"Ah! Kasaru-san!"_

_Sidney looked up from his book to see his dorm mate, Kichijiro, standing in the doorway, paper clutched tightly in his hand._

_"I get tickets for kabuki in Minami-ku! You come?" he asked in his broken English._

_"...kabuki?" Sidney frowned, putting down his book._

_"You call theater, yeah? Kabuki better than American theater. Minami-ku is where the kabuki at. You come?"_

_"...no thanks."_

_"Ah, you do not know what you miss,"Kichijiro's face fell. "I leave you two tickets anyway, yeah? Maybe you decide to invite girlfriend?"_

_"Get out of here!"_

_Kichijiro fled, laughing, dropping two tickets on the floor. Sidney sighed, getting up and picking up the fallen tickets._

_"Crazy..." he muttered, pocketing the tickets._

--------

Sidney quickly checked his back pocket. They were still there...

"Say, Victoria..." Sidney began, catching her attention. "...would you like to go to the theater with me?"

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"Oh my God, that was amazing!"

Sidney chuckled as he and Victoria walked through the snow to the train.

"Yeah, that was nice," he admitted.

"Thank you for inviting me to go with you," Victoria beamed. "Where did you get those tickets, anyways?"

"Oh... a friend gave them to me," Sidney answered. _If you could call him that..._ "You had fun?"

"Ohh, yes," Victoria sighed happily. "It was very nice..."

Sidney smiled.

"...now, how are you going to top that? It's only the first date, and already..."

"W-wha?! Hey!"

Victoria laughed, running as a madly blushing Sidney chased after her.

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(End chapter two.

I AM SO SORRY FOR AMERICANIZING JAPAN. Please, shoot me now. But not fatally, because then TCGeek will hunt me down...

Sidney's at Sapporo International University- they offer business classes and it's a real school. Greg is at University of Chicago, which is singlehandedly the most amazing school ever. I'm going to go there. Believe it!

Greg Kasal's second job is Dating Advice Expert. You know it.

Aww, look, it's Sidney and Victoria and Victoria's flirting with him. How cuuuuuute.

Next chapter... I'm hoping will be short, but you know... not lacking anything.

OH that reminds me, Greg's a momma's boy! XD That makes me giggle inside...

Next chapter will definitely be up by Monday, thanks to LABOR DAY WEEKEND. YES.

Also, if you can tell me where I got the name Kichijiro, I will give you cookies the size of your face. DAMN, these are long author's notes...

Review please! Let me know what you think!)


	3. Will You

(Three warnings:

Rambling chapter, curse words, and FUCKING LONG.

I think that's the only REAL curse word. But CRIPES, this thing bounces EVERYWHERE. You only get a sense of what time it is by looking at the dates of the emails! I'm just thankful it's finally written out so I can start working on chapter four...

Oh yes, before I forget... Kichijiro is a semi-main character in the book "Silence" by Shusaku Endo. It talks about how Christianity was being stamped out in Japan, and it's a really great book. Read it, even if you're not Christian, just to read an awesome book.

And with that being said, ONWARD!

Characters(except Kichijiro) © Nintendo)

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New Beginnings

Chapter Three- Will You

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Sidney had a problem.

Business was _boring._

He absolutely refused to give it up, though; he was far too stubborn to admit defeat. But that didn't take away from the fact that he wished he was doing something else with his life.

"Kasaru-san!"

Sidney looked up to see Kichijiro enter the room.

"Ah! You look sad. What wrong?" the Japanese student asked, frowning slightly as he sat down.

"...I'm going through a mid-educational life crisis," Sidney sighed, very frustrated with himself.

"...a what?"

"I have a really big problem."

"Ohhhh."

"I told my family that I would do business," Sidney began to explain. "But it's really boring. I'm not going to give it up, but... I wish I was doing something more engaging with my time."

"...I see, I think," Kichijiro nodded.

Sidney started to think about his brother, who was still in America. At med school...

"...maybe I should have done medicine, like Greg did," Sidney muttered, staring at the ceiling as he lay on his bed. "At least he's doing something interesting..."

"Medicine?" Kichijiro suddenly perked up. "You say you want to do medicine?"

"Yeah... I think I'd like that, but they don't have programs here-"

"Not here, yeah, but Sapporo Medical University, they have!"

Sidney glanced at Kichijiro, almost disbelieving.

"You're telling me there's a medical school here, in this city?"

"Hai!" Kichijiro nodded enthusiastically. "It maybe... uh, thirty minute away on train? Not far at all!"

Sidney sat up again, intrigued...

"How do you get in? Is there a test or something?"

Kichijiro's face suddenly fell.

"...yeah, there test... but only in Nihon. My language. You not understand, yeah? So, you not able to take... sorry, Kasaru-san. I thought I help..."

A medical school near him... with a test in a foreign language?

Well, Sidney was never one to pass up a good challenge...

"Kichijiro, do you know when the test is?"

"When? Uh... end of month six... you call June? Why you ask?"

"June... that gives me a little over four months to learn Japanese. Will you teach me?"

"Whaaaa?!" Kichijiro's eyes widened in shock. "You think you can do it? No way! Not possible."

"Yes it is," Sidney countered. "Don't you dare argue with me on this one. I will learn Japanese by the end of June, and if you won't teach me, I'll find somebody who will."

Kichijiro sighed.

"I teach you, but you have no time for sleep anymore. I only can teach at night. You sure that okay?"

Sidney grinned.

"Of course I'm sure."

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_-"Kasama-sensei gave us a lot to read tonight, didn't he?"_-

Sidney quickly scribbled his reply.

-_"Yes, he did. I'm going to do it during dinner tonight... assuming I don't fall asleep at the table."_-

Kichijiro read the note carefully.

"You do very good, Kasaru-san!"

It was only the beginning of March, and already Sidney's written Japanese was completely understandable- the result of many sleepless nights spent practicing. The younger Kasal twin grinned as he fixed his glasses.

"I'm going to go eat. I'll see you later, Kichijiro."

"Okay. I see you, Kasaru-san."

Sidney left for the cafeteria, listening to his stomach protest mightily. After he purchased his tempura udon, he sat down at an empty table...

"Sidney?"

"Oh, hello, Victoria..."

Victoria smiled as she sat down next to Sidney.

A week after they had gone to the theater, Sidney had admitted to Victoria(while stuttering, which is something that nobody, especially Greg, would ever need to know) that he had a "slight" crush on her.

They had started going out once she revealed that the feeling was mutual.

"I haven't seen you around much," Victoria commented as she opened a book. "Where have you been?"

"I sort of... forced my dorm mate to start teaching me Japanese," Sidney admitted as he began eating his food. "I'm going to take the entry test to Sapporo Medical University in June, and apparently the test is only in Japanese."

"...you're leaving?" Victoria asked, a look of sadness starting to come over her face.

"I never said that," Sidney replied.

"...you're going to attend two colleges at once?!"

Sidney shrugged. "I once knew someone who did it. They said it wasn't easy, but they proved that it can be done."

"...you're going to wear yourself out," Victoria commented, concerned. "Are you sure that this is what you want to do?"

"I've already made up my mind on the issue," Sidney nodded. "But this means I'm going to have less time for you... I'm sorry about that, Victoria."

"it's alright," Victoria smiled. "It's not like I can't find a way to contact you, is it?"

"Right," Sidney nodded.

--------

"That not what you just said."

"...do I even want to know what I said? I probably don't..."

Sidney quickly learned that while writing in Japanese was not that hard for him, speaking was a different story altogether.

He had especially found a way to hate words where the meaning changed depending on how you said it.

"You need to be careful with word like that," Kichijiro informed. "One word, you say wrong, you go from talk about wind chime to... how you say... prostitute girlfriend."

"Well then, remind me to never talk about wind chimes."

Kichijiro laughed.

"Hey, you go to Hanami?" he asked, quickly changing the subject.

"What's Hanami?" Sidney frowned slightly.

"Big flower festival near Shinto temples," Kichijiro explained. "Most people go to get drunk, but very nice sakura and ume trees. Not next weekend, but one after. You go with your girlfriend?"

"Shut up!" Sidney scowled, fighting back a blush.

"Nearest temple ten minute on train," Kichijiro grinned. "Stop three. You go with... how you say her name... Deru-san?"

"...who, Victoria? ...and what are you trying to suggest, Kichijiro?! She's not my--"

"You no lie, Kasaru-san! I see you and her many time together!"

"...ugh, fine. Yes, she's my girlfriend... now DROP IT."

Kichijiro laughed.

--------

"Hey, Victoria..."

"Oh! Hello, Sidney..."

Sidney slid into the chair next to Victoria, who was studying in the library.

"How are your Japanese 'classes' going?" Victoria asked in a hushed voice.

Sidney held up a copy of "The Idiot's Guide to Japanese."

"Slowly."

"Ohh... surely you could have found a book with a better title, at least..."

"Mm... but there was something I wanted to ask you... in two Saturdays, there's supposed to be a festival near the local temple..."

"Yeah?" Victoria seemed interested.

"Mhm... would you like to go with me?"

--------

"...oh, wow..." Victoria breathed softly.

Sidney let out a low whistle.

They had never seen cherry blossom trees, let alone ones in full bloom; the sight before them could be described as nothing short of amazing.

They were seated at the far end of the line of trees, but that was okay; Sidney had taken Victoria here to see the trees, not the drunkards.

"Thank you, Sidney..." Victoria smiled, resting her head on Sidney's shoulder. "Thank you for bringing me here."

"You're welcome," Sidney replied, fixing his glasses.

"...why do you do that?" Victoria asked, curious. "Fixing your glasses, I mean."

"Oh... I suppose it's a nervous habit?" Sidney chuckled. "Really, I don't know why I do it... I just do. I always have."

"Oh..." Victoria pondered that for a moment.

"...what about you? Any unusual habits that you have?" Sidney queried.

Victoria suddenly blushed.

"Well... when I'm really happy, sometimes I do... spontaneous things," she began slowly. "Like... I'll start singing really loudly, or just get up and start dancing."

"Really?" Sidney looked at her. Victoria nodded, looking up at Sidney as she scooted closer...

"And sometimes... if I'm really, really happy... I do this..."

--------

When Sidney finally got back to his dorm, he was still in shock at what had happened.

He collapsed onto his bed, trying to remember exactly what and how it had occurred.

The laptop on his desk beeped; Sidney sighed, slowly getting up to check and see who had just emailed him.

_On 3/30/2002 at 9:40 pm gkasal(a)uofc.il wrote:_

_SIDNEY WHERE ARE YOU. IT HAS BEEN TWO MONTHS oh GOD don't tell me you're dead. Are you dead? Please tell me you're not._

For some reason, Greg's senseless rambling put a smile on Sidney's face instead of a usual scowl of frustration.

_On 3/30/2002 at 9:47 pm skasal(a)siu.jp wrote:_

_I'm dead, Greg. My funeral was five hours ago. Shame on you for not being there, what kind of brother are you?_

Greg checked the email address again.

It was Sidney's, all right...

_On 3/30/2002 at 9:52 pm gkasal(a)uofc.il wrote:_

_Wow, Sidney, you must be in a __really__ good mood. What happened?_

The smile on Sidney's face widened.

_On 3/30/2002 at 9:56 pm skasal(a)siu.jp wrote:_

_Five hours ago, something major happened._

Greg quickly checked his email archive.

_On 3/30/2002 at 10:04 pm gkasal(a)uofc.il wrote:_

_Did it involve the girl you were trying to impress?_

_On 3/30/2002 at 10:08 pm skasal(a)siu.jp wrote:_

_Yes it did. By the way, your advice worked very well; I thank you for it._

_On 3/30/2002 at 10:11 pm gkasal(a)uofc.il wrote:_

_You're welcome. Now... what happened that could put you in such a good mood..._

_On 3/30/2002 at 10:13 pm gkasal(a)uofc.il wrote:_

_OH MY GOD. YOU'RE NOT A VIRGIN ANYMORE._

Instead of being mortified beyond all belief, Sidney nearly fell out of his chair laughing.

_On 3/30/2002 at 10:16 pm skasal(a)siu.jp wrote:_

_Not... THAT major, Greg._

_On 3/30/2002 at 10:22 pm gkasal(a)uofc.il wrote:_

_...OH MY GOD. YOU KISSED A GIRL. WHICH MEANS YOU HAVE A GIRLFRIEND. I NEVER THOUGHT THIS DAY WOULD COME._

_On 3/30/2002 at 10:26 pm skasal(a)siu.jp wrote:_

_Gee, it's nice to see my own twin had such high confidence in my ability to have a love life._

Greg laughed.

_On 3/30/2002 at 10:30 pm gkasal(a)uofc.il wrote:_

_Well, congratulations, Sidney. I gotta go now; the cafeteria is calling me. We __will__ talk again... __before__ two months have passed._

_On 3/30/2002 at 10:32 pm skasal(a)siu.jp wrote:_

_Alright. Later, Greg._

--------_  
_

Sapporo Medical University was surprisingly large. Sidney had nearly gotten lost three times just trying to get to the main lecture hall.

But now he had a seat, constantly taking off his glasses and cleaning them, then putting them back on as he and several hundred others waited anxiously for test time.

Finally, the moderators began passing out the tests to the potential future students.

-"You have two hours to complete the test. You may begin as soon as you get it."-

Sidney glanced over his test as soon as he got it.

...really, did they think he would need two hours for this? This wouldn't be hard at all!

Smiling to himself, Sidney began answering the first question...

--------

_On 7/12/2004 at 11:11 pm gkasal(a)uofc.il wrote:_

_Hey, Sidney, sorry for the extremely delayed response, but congrats on getting your business degree in 3 years!_

_On 7/12/2004 at 11:15 pm skasal(a)siu.jp wrote:_

_Thanks, Greg... you're going to have to start sending your emails to (a)smu.jp now._

_On 7/12/2004 at 11:20 pm gkasal(a)uofc.il wrote:_

_Oh yeah, you still have another year of med school, huh? You overachiever, doing in four years what most people don't do ever. :)_

_On 7/12/2004 at 11:23 pm skasal(a)siu.jp wrote:_

_Yep. Looks like we'll be graduating together again... only not quite._

_On 7/12/2004 at 11:27 pm gkasal(a)uofc.il wrote:_

_Must be that twin thing, huh?_

_So, when are you going to ask her?_

_On 7/12/2004 at 11:30 pm skasal(a)siu.jp wrote:_

_Tomorrow... it has to be._

_On 7/12/2004 at 11:34 gkasal(a)uofc.il wrote:_

_Alright then. Let me know what she says!_

--------

It was a warm, quiet night, so Sidney and Victoria had decided to sit outside and enjoy the beautiful weather.

"It's such a pretty night," Victoria sighed happily.

"Yeah..." Sidney agreed as he slowly took her hand.

"This is where you might say, 'It's not as pretty as you', like in a cheesy romance novel," Victoria joked, looking at Sidney with a smile on her face.

"But I've told you, I'm more a man of action than words," Sidney replied, also smiling gently.

"Yes... and I don't think I could forgive you if you said that god-awful line, anyways."

They both laughed.

"Hey, Victoria... when you were a kid, did you ever get your palm read by a psychic?" Sidney asked once he had calmed down.

"Oh, yes," Victoria nodded, "I did, once."

"Well, have you ever gotten a hand reading?"

"What's that?" Victoria's expression was one of curiosity.

"It's a secret form of palm reading that's been passed down the Kasal family line for generations," Sidney answered, smiling. "Would you like to try it?"

"Sure," Victoria chuckled, extending her left hand. Sidney took it and began examining the back of her hand.

"Oh... I see your life will be full of happy moments, along with sadness... and health along with sickness," Sidney observed. "But... there's something else..."

"...what is it?" Victoria asked.

"It says here that the happy times would far outweigh the sad ones, and you would be cared for in your moments of sickness... but that depends... on your answer to the Question."

"What is the question, Sidney--"

Victoria suddenly froze as Sidney slipped the silver ring onto her finger. For a few moments, she started at it, shocked.

"Victoria..." Sidney began, still gently holding her hand. "...will you marry me?"

Tears began to flow down Victoria's face as she smiled.

"Of... of course I'll marry you... Sidney."

--------

(End chapter three.

NOW WASN'T THAT ROMANTIC. God I'm good at spoiling moods.

This chapter was WAY TOO LONG. Next chapter will be at least ONE PAGE SHORTER. My notebook is almost full, I might not have room for the PD bonus chapter if I keep writing this much. Damn my lust for excessively long scenes!

Now... if you can figure out which manga/anime I quoted in this chapter, I'll give you a cookie. If you can name the character, too, I'll give you a truckload of cookies.

Also, who here loved when Greg totally began spazzing after Sidney got back from Hanami? -raises hand-

Next chapter will be up soon... vague, I know, but deal with it.

Please review!)


	4. Shi

(Okay, wow. As of three nights ago, several major things happened... I updated my bio, I got an idea for a really strange fic- that I probably will write and post here- AND I got one of my good friends to read this story.

Who am I, and what have I done with ITB?!

Also, the play... I was recently in Chicago, and that's what my relatives took me to. If you ever go to Chicago, go to Maggiano's. Maggiano's kicks ASS. They give you chocolate cake slices that could feed a whole family of Reubens. (You all should know Reuben.)

Also, a warning; this chapter has many abrupt time changes. But, whatever. You should be used to that by now if you're reading this.

Well, anyways, about my bio- if you want to read it, _READ IT NOW._ You certainly won't be in the mood to read anything incredibly pointless and stupid once this chapter's over, if I've done it right.

Characters © Nintendo)

--------

New Beginnings

Chapter Four- _Shi_

--------

2011... it was only May, and already it was proving to be an extremely busy year.

In the Angeles Bay area, the quiet of a small house in the suburbs was disturbed by a ringing phone. It was quickly answered by the lady of the household.

"Hello?" she spoke in a soft voice.

"Hey, Victoria... it's me."

Victoria Kasal smiled. "Hey, Sidney... are you going to be working late again?"

"Actually, I just got off for the day," Sidney informed. "You might want to get ready to go out... I'll be home in about forty minutes."

"Alright," Victoria replied. "I love you, Sidney..."

"You too, Victoria."

They hung up.

--------

"Oh, Sidney, that was so incredible..."

Sidney and Victoria exited the theater, heading back to the parking garage to get to their car.

"Alright, be honest..." Victoria smiled. "When did you get reservations to Vera Cruz and tickets to Wicked? There's no way you could have done this at the last minute..."

"How can you be sure?" Sidney smiled.

"It's just not possible... I heard tickets for Wicked sold out in March..."

Sidney chuckled as they entered the garage. Rather than wait for an elevator to take them to the second floor, they opted to take the stairwell instead.

"I found out in February that work was going to be extremely hectic, at best, from here on out for a while," he explained. "After today, I'm going to be working late a lot... so, I decided to celebrate our anniversary early."

"Well, it was very enjoyable," Victoria smiled as they stepped out of the stairwell. "Thank you, Sidney..."

As they approached the car, Sidney placed a gentle kiss on Victoria's lips.

"You're welcome."

--------

The seven o'clock alarm was quickly silenced by a tired swing at the snooze bar.

Sidney's hand lingered on the button for a little while before it slipped away. He refused to open his eyes; maybe he could fall asleep again for a few minutes...

"Mm... Sidney, I know you heard the alarm go off..."

Sighing quietly, Sidney opened his eyes, greeted by the blurry sight of his smiling wife.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," Victoria murmured, slowly stroking the side of Sidney's face. He smiled gently, pulling Victoria in closer.

"Hey there," Sidney replied tiredly, kissing Victoria briefly. "It's too early to be getting up... I vote we stay in today, how's that sound?"

"That sounds like a fine idea," Victoria giggled, her hand falling away from Sidney's face, "but I'm not too sure your boss would like it if you slept in today..."

Sidney smiled.

"All right... you have a good point."

With great effort, Sidney pulled himself away from Victoria and out of bed. He pulled on a robe as he headed for the master bathroom. Victoria stayed in bed for another minute or so before she too got up, pulling on her own robe as she went downstairs to make some coffee.

When Sidney came downstairs about twenty minutes later, Victoria was sitting on the couch in the living room, sipping a cup of hot coffee. As he finished fixing his tie, Sidney walked into the kitchen.

He returned to the living room with his own cup of coffee, drinking the caffeinated liquid as he sat down next to Victoria.

"Mm... you smell nice," Victoria commented as she rested her head on Sidney's shoulder.

"I should hope so," Sidney chuckled. "It would be a bad thing if I came out of the shower smelling worse, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah, it would," Victoria smiled, drinking her coffee. "...do you know when you'll be home tonight?"

"Not until late," Sidney sighed. "Maybe I'll get out at ten... if I'm lucky."

"Oh..." Victoria murmured, looking into her now-empty cup. "Will you call me when you're on your way home?"

"Of course."

--------

Sidney had called at eleven and walked in the front door at eleven thirty.

He was asleep on the couch by eleven forty-five.

Victoria couldn't help but smile briefly as she turned off the television.

The lenses of Sidney's glasses no longer reflected Harry Potter and Voldemort locked in yet another deadly struggle, which Harry would inevitably win, as always. Victoria removed Sidney's glasses, folding them and gently placing them on the coffee table.

"Good night, Sidney," she spoke softly as she took the living room blanket and tossed it over her sleeping husband before retiring to her bedroom.

--------

Really, Victoria wondered, how could they make Sidney work double shifts twelve days in a row?! This was insane! It should be outlawed!

And now, on the day of their anniversary, he wasn't going to be home till after _midnight?_

Victoria hoped that he would get a day off soon... she was tired of Sidney only being home long enough to eat and fall asleep, then wake up to get back to work.

Sighing, she flopped onto the couch, desperately bored at only one thirty in the afternoon. At this point, she was even willing to watch talk shows... even though she found it pathetic, that people had been on some of the shows five or six- sometimes more!- times.

_"But I just KNOW he's the father of my baby! I may have been wrong seven times before, but this time I'm positive!"_

Victoria slowly began to pick up the remote...

The phone rang. She sprang to her feet, dropping the remote in her rush to answer the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hello, ma'am... is Mr. Kasal there?"

Victoria smiled as she quickly recognized the voice- not her husband's, but so similar to it that it was hard to tell the difference.

"No, Sidney's not here, Greg... he won't be home till after midnight."

Greg let out a low whistle.

"I call on my first day off in a month, and he's working until midnight?! And I thought my hours were bad... don't tell me he's pulling doubles!"

"For almost two weeks, now."

"Damn... oh, pardon my language, Victoria."

"Oh, it's alright," Victoria waved off Greg's less than perfect choice of words. "What did you want to tell him? I'll give him the message."

"Well, I was going to wish him a happy anniversary- happy sixth anniversary, by the way-, but now I'm going to tell him that he needs to get a life," Greg chuckled.

"Oh, he still does... it's just mostly work now," Victoria joked."But about two weeks ago, he took me to see Wicked..."

"Really? Who'd he have to kill to get the tickets?" Greg laughed.

"Ha ha, very funny, Greg," Victoria admonished, but was unable to keep the smile off her face. "Actually, he--"

Her sentence was suddenly cut off as she let out a cry, clutching at her chest, which had exploded with pain...

"Victoria? ...what's wrong?!"

Victoria tried to answer, but couldn't; her breaths came in labored gasps, her vision began to blur... the phone fell from her hands to the floor, and soon, she followed suit as everything faded to black--

"Victoria!!"

--------

At one fifty, Sidney was stuck in a meeting that he would rather have not had to attend in the first place.

Suddenly, his back pocket began to vibrate. Suppressing a sigh, Sidney subtly pulled out his cell phone and checked the caller ID.

Why would his brother be calling him _now,_ of all times? Didn't he work on Thursdays?

"What is it, Greg?" Sidney asked in a hushed voice as he accepted the call, trying not to draw attention to himself. "I'm in a meeting right now."

"And I'm sure that this meeting you're in is not as important as your wife!"

"...what are you--?!"

"Sidney, you need to get to Hope Hospital, _now._"

The younger Kasal was on his feet in an instant, ignoring the stares of everyone else in the room.

"I can't say what happened... it would take too long. Just get here, Sidney... hurry."

Greg hung up.

Sidney started to leave.

"Where are you going, Mr. Kasal? The meeting's not--"

"I don't care; I have more important matters to attend to!" Sidney barked as he exited the room.

--------

He was at Hope Hospital by two twenty-five. Greg was waiting for him in the main lobby.

"What happened?!" Sidney demanded.

"...I called your house at one thirty," Greg began, his voice somber. "Victoria answered and said you weren't home. We started talking, and... I'm not sure what happened, but she fell and dropped the phone... and didn't answer. So I called for an ambulance... and then I called you, and here we are."

"...where is she?"

"...come on. I'll show you. ...don't be surprised by what you see."

--------

Sidney collapsed into the chair by her bed.

"V...Victoria..."

She was still unconscious. Her skin had taken on an ashen color, and her thin arms were covered with IV sites. As Sidney slowly took her hand, he noticed that it felt unnaturally cold...

"Greg... what's going to happen?"

Greg sighed, running a hand through his brown hair.

"When we did a CT scan, there were tumors in her lungs... but they didn't look right. Every image showed them in a different place..."

"...they were moving?!"

"Sure as hell what it looked like to us," Greg nodded. "We told Dr. Hoffman, the director here at Hope... he said not to operate. he's going to call Caduceus."

"Caduceus... that organization that the HHS set up?" Sidney asked.

"Yeah. He's hoping they'll send over their senior surgeon... he's come once before, and the situation turned out alright; Dr. Clarks is an excellent surgeon. If anyone can take care of this, it'll be him."

--------

Over the course of three days, Sidney was reluctant to leave Victoria's side; he would only go home to take a shower, and then would come right back to Hope Hospital to stay with his wife, even sleeping by her bedside. Each day he waited, hoping that Victoria would open her eyes; and every day, she remained unconscious... Sidney felt himself slipping into despair.

On the fourth morning, Sidney was awoken by Greg gently shaking his shoulders.

"Sidney... Dr. Clarks is here. He's going to be operating in about a half an hour. You have to let them prepare her for surgery."

"...alright..." Sidney muttered, clearly reluctant to move away from his wife.

"Sidney... you can stay with her again after it's over. They can't do anything for her if you won't let them do their job..."

Although Greg's words were rather blunt, Sidney could see their point... he slowly rose to his feet, exiting room 212 with Greg.

--------

Ninety minutes.

Greg and Sidney had only been waiting for ninety minutes.

Dr. Clarks walked out of the operating room slowly, reluctant to look towards Sidney.

Greg knew what that meant...

"Dr. Clarks... is my wife going to be okay?"

He stopped, turning to face Sidney, who was slowly beginning to stand.

"...I'm sorry, sir," Dr. Clarks shook his head sadly.

"...what... what do you mean, 'I'm sorry'? She's going to be alright now, isn't she?!"

"Sidney," Greg said warningly as he rose to his feet, sensing that his brother was losing control of his emotions.

"Why?! Why won't she be alright?! I thought you--"

Sidney was suddenly brought to silence when Dr. Clarks gently placed a hand on Sidney's shoulder, his brown eyes reflecting regret and sadness. Sidney felt his clenched hands relax...

"...nothing can be done to save her... I'm sorry, Mr. Kasal. ...stay with her... because she doesn't have much time left."

Dr. Clarks then left, leaving Sidney behind. Greg slowly approached his brother, who was frozen with shock.

"Sidney...?"

Sidney trembled slightly.

"...Greg..."

His voice cracked; Greg was barely able to catch him before Sidney collapsed to the floor, the tears falling freely from his face.

Never before had Greg heard a sound so sad as that of his only brother, the one who had taken all hardships with a grin, sobbing over the loss of his love.

--------

(End chapter four.

No additional comments, just that shi is Japanese for the number four... and that it also means death... and my usual request for reviews, please...)


	5. Life Goes On

(And now, after bringing several veterans(and some people who are new to my review list) to tears... the final chapter!

I just have three comments... Alexa. Really, I can't thank you enough for reviewing all the chapters of all my TC stories. However, if people had really needed to know that yon was the preferred way to say four, I would have told them. But it wasn't relevant; hence, it was left out.

Second comment- in the beginning, Greg is being uber-supportive. Don't you wish you had a brother like Greg?

The third comment... no. I'll save the third comment for the end, otherwise this chapter will never get finished. My third comment is a full-blown _RANT._

Characters © Nintendo

GUILT(Gangliated Utrophin Immuno Latency Toxin © Nintendo)

--------

New Beginnings

Chapter Five- Life Goes On

--------

_The funeral was short; he heard so many reactions from family, friends..._

_"You have my condolences, Mr. Kasal..."_

_"It's a shame, isn't it? She died so young... and so suddenly..."_

_"Well, maybe if you had been __home__ more often, she wouldn't have gotten to that point... they could have cured her. Did you ever think of that, Sidney? If you hadn't been so negligent--"_

_"He took perfectly good care of her. Now shut up and show some respect for those who are grieving."_

_Sidney didn't know it was possible for him to be so thankful that Greg was his twin; he had protected Sidney from the painful memories of Victoria's sudden death, led him to conversations that were focused on happier times, and effectively silenced the people who were eager to blame._

_It was Greg who had comforted Sidney in his darkest hour; it was him that reminded the widower that his wife would have told him to be strong._

_And it was Greg that stayed by Sidney's side, even after everyone else had left._

_"You didn't have to do this for me," Sidney stated softly, watching the sun dip below the horizon as they stood in front of Victoria's gravestone. "You could have left with everyone else."_

_"I could have," Greg admitted. "And I could have let you go and try to blame yourself for something that you didn't do. ...but then again, I couldn't do that. What kind of brother would I be? I'm not leaving you on your own... not now. Not when you need someone the most."_

_"...thank you, Greg."_

_-------- _

_He had figured that Sidney would go through this phase- refusing to crawl out of bed unless someone called him._

_So, at seven thirty in the morning, Greg would call his brother, telling Sidney that it was time for him to get up. The response was always a tired, and usually sullen, mutter of protest, but Sidney always thanked Greg for checking on him._

_For seven days this happened._

_On the eighth, Sidney called Greg at seven twenty-nine._

_"Hello, Greg. Are you awake yet?"_

_"Sidney? Are you alright?"_

_"As alright as I can get, considering the circumstances..." Sidney sighed as he made a pot of coffee. "I got fired a few days ago."_

_"What for?!"_

_"My ex-boss was infuriated with my 'exponential decrease in productivity,' and just lost it," Sidney muttered. "I really don't care. I was going to quit today, anyways..."_

_"You were? Why... if it's okay to ask?"_

_"...I'm going to go into medicine," Sidney spoke, his voice serious. "I have to... to make sure that nobody... that nobody has to suffer... like Victoria did."_

_It was the first time he had used her name since before the funeral._

_"...Sidney."_

_"I'm going to make sure that whatever... that whatever it was that killed her..."_

_Sidney paused._

_"...that nobody has to suffer from that again."_

_There was silence._

_"Well, Sidney..." Greg finally spoke, a smile playing at his lips, "I guess it's a good thing for you that I heard... an interesting rumor."_

_"..like what?" Sidney asked, curious._

_"Well, it seems as though isolated instances of that disease have been showing up around the country... Richard Anderson, the Secretary of Health and Head Director of Caduceus, is trying to get the researchers to find a cure."_

_"Really?"_

_"However the Director of US Operations, a Mr. Hans Zajac, refused to devote research funding to find a cure- something about how it would 'never develop to a full scale outbreak.' ...he was tossed out of office faster than you can say Asclepius."_

_"...so there's a job opening," Sidney realized what Greg was getting at. "At the forefront of modern medicine, no less..."_

_"Last I heard, they were still looking for someone to take the offer," Greg continued. "I've heard the interview is... impossible. That Mr. Anderson was... incredibly selective as to who gets the job."_

_"...impossible, you say."_

_"You really shouldn't do it, Sidney..."_

_"Now you're taunting me? Hmph. ...I have to go, Greg; I need to get ready for my interview."_

_He hung up._

--------_  
_

Seven years.

So much had happened in seven years.

After a particularly stressful day at Caduceus, Director Sidney Kasal was driving home, lost in thought.

Three years ago, they had found a name for the illness that had claimed his wife- Gangliated Utrophin Immuno Latency Toxin. He had smiled grimly when he first heard it; GUILT was an appropriate name... so perfectly describing what he had felt when he realized there was nothing he could do to save her.

He made a right turn onto a side street.

Even now, after all the research they had been doing, they could just barely treat one strain of GUILT... but the operation would be so tiring on the body, the patients would die shortly thereafter. And the strain that had taken Victoria, that now threatened to claim the younger sister of Tyler Chase... there was no treatment.

Yet.

Sidney pulled into the driveway of his house.

His cell phone rang; he answered it quickly.

"Hello, this is Director Kasal."

"Hey, Sidney."

Sidney smiled briefly as he entered his home.

"Hello, Greg. What's up?"

"Not much... just making sure that you're doing alright... especially since... it's the day."

"...yes. It is."

Sidney went to the kitchen to get a soda.

"I... I still haven't fully recovered from that," Sidney admitted. "And sometimes, I don't think I ever will. But... if I keep trying to help others... that's what would have probably made her happy. That I didn't give up. So... I can't afford to wallow in misery."

Greg chuckled lightly.

"It's good to know that you're doing alright, Sidney. While I've got you on the phone... I dropped off a file for you at Caduceus, and a blood sample of one of our recent patients... I need you to look at it tomorrow. We need test results."

"Alright. I'll see you later, Greg."

He hung up.

--------

"Hey, Chief, I've got the results back for this Reid girl. ...the Chiral Reaction's positive."

"Thank you, Victor. Did you do the-"

"Course I did. G1-R. ...what did that letter call it, Kyriaki?"

"Yes. Alright, thank you, Victor. You can dispose of the sample... carefully."

"Yeah, I know. Don't want to be spreading that stuff around.."

As Victor Niguel left Sidney's office, Sidney picked up his pen.

"Chiral Reaction... positive..." Sidney muttered, quickly writing on the form. "GUILT confirmed... Spectral Analysis... G1-R. I wonder what's going to happen to this girl..."

Sidney decided to look through the small pile of papers that Greg had left for him. Maybe the answer was there--

...a DVD? And a letter of recommendation...

Sidney carefully pulled out the letter.

_Name: Derek Stiles_

_Age: 26_

_Occupation: Surgeon (Hope Hospital; Angeles Bay area)_

_Reasons for Recommendation: Skilled at operating under tense situations. Has the Healing Touch. Able to operate successfully on Linda Reid(suspected GUILT victim); patient is recovering nicely with no signs of complications._

_Comments: DVD of Reid operation included._

_Name of Recommender: Gregory E. Kasal_

Greg's signature was scrawled next to his name.

"Able to operate successfully against GUILT...?" Sidney murmured as he picked up the DVD. After thinking briefly, he decided to insert the disc into his laptop. "I need to see this..."

What he saw was amazing. How the hell did he move so fast...?! And Greg was right... after the operation, there was no mad panic to try and stabilize the patient...

--------

Greg stopped by Caduceus on his way home from work that evening, as Sidney had requested earlier that morning. His brother was waiting for him in the main lobby.

He picked up the file that he had dropped off the day before. As he scanned through the papers, Greg noticed an extra letter... with _Caduceus USA_ as its heading, and _Dr. Derek Stiles_ as the recipient.

Greg smiled.

--------

(End chapter five.

And now we have a better, albeit completely made up, understanding of the Kasal's, more specifically Sidney's, past!

And now, rant time.

I received a review from an anonymous reviewer.

Don't even bother looking for it... because I deleted it. Why, you ask?

Because of the rudeness of the person's question.

My readers, I really don't care if you ramble on and say pointless things- in fact, I like it. It makes my extremely normal day a little more surreal. However, the one thing that will guarantee my unadulterated rage is if you demand, in the form of a question, that I do something.

"But can we have some CybilGregservice around here now?", as the person put it, is a surefire way to put a halt to ANY GregxCybil fics I may be writing. ESPECIALLY after a chapter like chapter four... if that's all you can say about it, then don't even say anything. ANYTHING!

And with that off my chest... for the people who have read and reviewed from the beginning, I thank you! I thank you for putting up with my rants and my horrible butchering of the Japanese culture, and for telling me what you felt in the moments of drama!

And for all of you who are wondering what strange works of fiction may spout forth from my keyboard next, check my profile; at the bottom will be a list of stories that are done, in progress, or will being coming soon to a Trauma Center category near you!

DAMN these notes are almost longer than the chapter itself! Please review!)


End file.
